


Dammit Naruto!

by stonerspermdonor



Category: Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, Naruto, Naruto (Anime) RPF
Genre: Anko and Ibiki are prank pulling meanies, Choji and Naruto are great friends, Creepy Orochimaru (Naruto), F/F, F/M, Foxes, Fuuinjutsu Master Uzumaki Naruto, Gaara & Uzumaki Naruto Friendship, Gaara and siblings are great, Gaara is a poor boy with half a brain cell and no knowledge on feelings, Good Orochimaru (Naruto), Haruno Sakura is So Done, Hatake Kakashi is a Troll, Help, Help Gaara, Help Sasuke please, Help me im shit at writing, Hinata Hyuuga grows a pair, Hyuuga Hanabi is a lil shit, Hyuuga Hiashi is a L O S E R, I M I G H T have naruto rebuild and rule over Uzushi, Ino Yamanaka might be gay for Sakura, Iruka is so done, Is this a kissing book?, Jiraiya is a dummy, Kakashi gets trolled, Kankuro has a strange friendship with Kiba, Kazekage Gaara (Naruto), Kyuubi | Nine-tails | Kurama & Uzumaki Naruto Friendship, Looking at YOU Anko & Ibiki, M/M, Minor Gaara/Rock Lee, Momma Fox, Nara family shit, Naruto becomes a bit smarter, Naruto is a lil shit, Neji Hyuuga hates feelings, No Beta We Die Like Ninja, No love for yamato, Nonbinary Orochimaru (Naruto), Orochimaru and Jiraiya are a little c l o s e, Orochimaru is a Troll (Naruto), Other Additional Tags to Be Added, POV Nara Shikamaru, Platonic Relationships, Protective Haruno Sakura, Romance is an idk, Sai (Naruto) needs help, Sakura Haruno is a lil shit, Sakura gets stronk, Sakura might be gay for Ino Yamanaka, Sasuke is a lil shit, Sasuke stays, Sasuke the edgelord himself, Shino is forgotten again, Strong Haruno Sakura, Tags Are Fun, Tags Are Hard, Temari has a strange interest in TenTen, Tenten has the only braincell, The two crazies in love, Those two guys from Naruto, Tsunade is a teacher, Uchiha Sasuke Being an Asshole, Uzumaki Naruto Being an Idiot, Uzumaki Naruto Needs a Hug, Uzumaki Naruto and Ramen, Uzushio gets explored, Uzushiogakure | Hidden Eddy Village, Yamato babysits Orochimaru, bear with me, but in L O V E, god help the gays, kakashi and obito may have tiny romance, maybe he shall kiss a tree, no wait don't leave it gets bette-, poor tree man, sorry in advance, very wholesome relationship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-17
Updated: 2021-01-31
Packaged: 2021-03-09 18:22:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 5,925
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27600646
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stonerspermdonor/pseuds/stonerspermdonor
Summary: This story takes inspiration from something I had read previously. I, unfortunately, lost the story and only have a slight memory of it.Naruto Uzumaki.A loud boisterous boy with a passion for pranks, a crippling love for ramen, and a desire to be seen and loved. He's trying to walk a path to lead there. However, things only get harder and he finds it hard to keep going. As hard as it is. he'll never give up. Those words aren't even in his vocabulary.
Relationships: Hagane Kotetsu/Kamizuki Izumo, Hatake Kakashi/Uchiha Obito, Jiraiya/Orochimaru (Naruto), Mitarashi Anko/Morino Ibiki, Orochimaru & Yamato | Tenzou, Shiranui Genma/Umino Iruka
Comments: 6
Kudos: 35





	1. A giant toad, a beetle and a giraffe walk into a bar...

A piercing scream rang through his apartment. it sounded like someone was being put through a damn shredde- oh wait. That's just his alarm. Naruto begrudgingly sat up, sleep still present in his mind. 'Why the hell am I even up this early!?' Naruto turned his head to the side, catching sight of the headband that lay on his bedside dresser he remembered exactly why. Yesterday's events played through his mind as if it had just happened. He had received his headband after he had taken out that bastard Mizuki for hurting Iruka-sensei and tricking him into stealing the forbidden scroll. He grinned however when he remembered Iruka placing his head on his forehead. He also was happy to remember the look on that traitors faced when he beat him up with those cool new clones he learned about from the scroll.

Naruto made his way over to the bathroom. He got washed up and then headed to the kitchen in record time to make some ramen before he went off to, finally, get placed on a genin team. Practically vibrating with excitement, he got dressed and went to his dresser. On it lay his goggles and his ninja headband. Smiling he tied the headband in place on his head and placed the goggles in his pockets for a last little surprise. 

If the early risers of the Narutos gorgeous city had looked up, for a split second they would have caught what looked like a little blond flash running over the rooftops of Konohagakure. That isn't to say some did not, for some, interest in him peaked like the hackles of a wolf who had caught the scent of vermin running through the fields. Unbothered and unaware Naruto continued. Running at full speed he almost crashed into a window. A closed window. Usually, it was open when he got to class. And while he is almost always late. He didn't think being on time would have him have to walk in like a regular student. Nevertheless, he walked through the doors and sat down at the left-hand table in the middle. He wasn't so early that he was the first one there, but still early for most students hadn't arrived. Yesterday had been too exciting to sleep immediately and the fact he was about to get sorted into a genin team only made him wake faster.

The morning so far had been uneventful. Shikamaru had just walked in so the class is definitely gonna start soon. When the blond thought of Shikamaru, his thoughts weren't really good or bad. He was lazy and often slept in class, but had some childhood friends and had played(albeit a bit reluctantly, however it was mostly because he was a bit lazy) with him when he was small. Lost in his thoughts he didn't notice Shikamaru almost walk past and then stop until he started speaking. "What are you doing here naruto? This isn't for dropouts, you can't be here unless you graduated." Naruto smirked cockily before pointing to his headband " Oh yeah!? do you see this, do you see this! Open your eyes Shikamaru, it's a regulation headband!" Shikamaru rolled his eyes and continued to his seat. One by one more people walked in. The weird quiet girl with the pale eyes walked in hima- hinaka- whatever her name was. The kid with the big jacket, Ino, one of Sasuke's dumb fangirls, Choji, Kiba, and his dog, and then, Sasuke. Sakura came in with Sasuke. She, unfortunately, is also a Sasuke fangirl. Which made no sense. What's so special about this guy anyway. 

Naruto hopped on the desk and stared Sasuke right in his face. Glaring at him he tried to figure out what's so special about him. "HEY GET AWAY FROM PRECIOUS SASUKE-KUN STUPID NARUTO." Sakura yelled, " YEAH LEAVE HIM ALONE" chimed in Ino. A chorus of yeahs sounded out from the other fangirls, but Naruto ignored them. Glaring at Sasuke he didn't see the guy behind him move his elbow back and knock him over. One moment it's a glaring contest, the next he's locking lips with SASUKE of all people. The fangirls went silent as they watched them both retch, cough, and wipe their tongues. However, when naruto turned around he saw a horde of angry fangirls who not only were mad HE accidentally kissed him, they wanted Sasuke's kiss too. His last thought before the stampede of fangirls beat him up was a bleak 'oh no' 

After the mess with Sasuke and his fans, and the brief squabble between Ino and Sakura about who got to sit next to Sasuke, Iruka walked in and called the class to attention. " Class, I am extremely proud to say that almost every single one of you passed and graduated. When we call teams we'll introduce sensei's as well." He gestured to the Chunin holding what looked like team selections." However, we will get to that when I finish hopefully the last lecture you'll have before you get accepted into a Genin team. The class groaned and Naruto pouted. He wanted to get on a team dammit. 

It was about 12 in the afternoon when Iruka finally said it was time to get to the teams. Naruto perked up but wasn't paying attention until the end. "Nara Shikamaru, Yamanaka Ino, Akimichi Choji. Your sensei is Sarutobi Asuma" Naruto jerked back into reality when he heard the names of people he knew. It was getting closer to his team as well. Iruka flipped a page and continued " Hyuuga Hinata, Aburame Shino, Inuzuka Kiba. Your sensei is Yuhi Kurenai" Naruto frowned, realizing that leaves- " Uchiha Sasuke, Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura. Your sensei is Hatake Kakashi" Iruka finished off. "WAIT THERE'S GOTTA BE A MISTAKE I CAN'T BE WITH SASUKE!" naruto stood up and yelled, right as Sakura similarly stood up and proclaimed that she could not be on a team with Naruto. Iruka rolled his eyes before yelling at them to be quiet and explaining lengthily how and why they are on a team together. Naruto chose to ignore his words. instead, he started sulking and watched as all the teams eventually got picked up by a teacher. The academy teachers left too, leaving all 3 of them waiting for their new sensei. 

It was 4 in the afternoon and Uzumaki Naruto was not only hungry but absolutely fed up with his sensei already. "You know what, I'm sick of this guy. If he's gonna be late he better face the consequences. Naruto went and picked the dustiest and most dirty eraser he could find. He placed it in the crack of the door. If you opened the door then it would fall directly on you. Naruto went back to his seat and chuckled evilly. Sakura glared and opened her mouth. " Don't be stupid naruto. Our sensei is an elite Jounin. No way he's gonna fall for that-" 

Kakashi walked in. Exactly under the eraser.


	2. 99 bottles of sake on the wall, 99 bottles of sake, you take one off and drink it all, 99 bottles...

Naruto grumbled as he made his way up to the tower where Kakashi told them to meet. After falling for his excellently well-thought-out prank, he had then told them that his first impression was that they were idiots. YES. The very person who had fallen for his prank, and was late by hours, told them that they were IDIOTS. Nevertheless, he made his way up and sat down. 

When they all sat down Kakashi began to speak." Now that you're all here, tell me a bit about yourselves. What you hate, what you like, a dream for the future, any hobbies?"  
Naruto frowned before exclaiming " HEy! aren't you, our sensei? Why don't you go first and show us how it's done?" Kakashi crossed his arms before looking thoughtful- well as thoughtful as you can look with most of your face covered. " Me? My name is Kakashi Hatake. I don't feel like telling you guys about my likes or dislikes. I've never really thought about my future dream... As for hobbies? I have many" Sakura and Naruto both looked dumbfounded while Sasuke looked positively bored. "Ehh? so in the end, the only thing we know is his name?!" Sakura said and looked slightly put off. " You on the left, go next" Kakashi instructed. 

" My name is Naruto Uzumaki!. I like instant ramen, but what I like even more is the ramen from Ichiraku that Iruka-Sensei treats me to!" " What I dislike is the 3 minutes after pouring hot water in the ramen! My hobby is eating and comparing ramen!" " My future dream... Is to surpass the Hokage, so the entire village stops treating me like dirt and pays me respect!" Kakashi raised his eyebrow briefly before continuing on. "Pinky? you next."

"My name is Sakura Haruno!" " What I like- I mean who I like is..." She looked at Sasuke and giggled before continuing on." " My hobby is-" Giggles again. " My future dream is-" She shook her head side to side, blushing and giggling at her thoughts. Kakashi looked bored and said, " What do you hate?" Sakura immediately shook off her blush and giggles and looked contempt " Naruto." Naruto at those words immediately frowned and looked sad.

"And lastly?" Sasuke didn't look up from his hands " My name is Sasuke Uchiha, I have a lot of dislikes, but no likes in particular." " I don't have any hobbies. I don't feel like summing up my ambition as just a dream, because I'm going to make it a reality." " I will restore my clan, and kill a certain man without fail." 

Sakura looked sad, in awe and curious, emotions flashing and flitting across her face. Naruto looked creeped out. He was definitely hoping that wasn't about him. Kakashi's face betrayed no emotions and his thoughts were calm. This wasn't something new. He expected and almost welcomed it. Finding it easier to deal with then a ramen obsessed boy with a wish to become Hokage, and an obsessed fangirl. 

"Now that we have introductions done, it's time to talk about tomorrow's test." Sakura furrowed her eyebrows " Test? We already took one? we're Genin now!" Kakashi smirked through his mask. " That's your academy Genin test. This test is deciding on whether or not I'll accept you as my students." Naruto looked shocked and Sakura seemed apprehensive. Sasuke was indifferent. " The test is a surprise, but I have some hints. I recommend you don't eat. You might throw up. Get there at 6:30." With those words, Kakashi burst into smoke. The smoke cleared and he was no longer with them.

All three of them looked surprised before adopting an exasperated expression. Naruto stood up and turned to Sakura " Sakura-Channn wouldja wanna go get ramen with me?"  
Sakura turned her head away "No go away, can't you see I'm busy?" Turning to Sasuke with a dreamy expression she said " S-Sasuke-Kun would you perhaps want to have dinner with me" She blushed and started messing with her hands. " No. I have things to do." Naruto turned away. Not watching them anymore, he left and started walking to his apartment. 

He thought of everything that had happened and frowned, being a ninja is a bit different then he thought. Nevertheless, he continued on. Before long however, he noticed a very peculiar rock following him. It was square, it moved, and had two little eye holes cut out. Naruto jumped and looked right at it. " I KNOW IT'S YOU KONOHAMARU YOU CAN'T FOOL ME" With a loud burst of weirdly colored smoke, Konohamaru, Moegi, and Udon jumped out. " Muahahaha I knew it, big brother Naruto is too smart to be fooled with disguises." Konohamaru exclaimed. Naruto looked proud and stood up straight. "I'm a ninja now Konohamaru. I've got to be on the lookout." Naruto then shifted his face to look serious "Because I'm a ninja now I no longer need these goggles, that's why I'm now bestowing them to you, as a symbol of getting bigger. After the goggles, you'll get your very own ninja headband -ttebayo!" All three of them looked on in awe as Naruto placed the goggles on Konohamaru's head. 

Kono teared up and sniffed hard to keep from crying "I'm gonna be Hokage after you and all of us are gonna be super strong ninja!!" Moegi and Udon nodded. All three of them raced off to go train, fired up and ready to go. Naruto looked at them go with a smile on his face. He decided to celebrate, with some of the best ramen around! Naruto raced on to the stand. Getting there in record time he sat down at his usual seat. " Oi Teuchi! Ayame-nee-Chan! Two bowls of Pork miso, please! "Ahh naruto it must be a day for celebration?" Naruto nodded " Yea nee-chan, I gave Konohamaru my goggles because I'm a new genin!" Teuchi smiled at the news " Well for our new Genin I must say these are on the house" Naruto burst into an even bigger smile, with a hurried word of thanks he dug in.

Slurping his last bit of ramen up, Naruto gave thanks to Teuchi and Ayame. Running out the stand he almost ran straight into someone. Almost tripping he stood up straight and turned around ready to apologize. Standing before him however, was none other than Shikamaru and Choji! Dumbfounded naruto forgot about an apology and almost yelled "What are YOU guys doin here?!" Shikamaru looked unimpressed and like he would rather be somewhere else, Choji looked...hungry. "Yakiniku Q is closed for today so Choji wanted to find somewhere else to eat. Apparently none of the restaurants we've gone past match his standards" Shikamaru had the most boring look on his face while explaining why they were a bit far from where they normally eat. Naruto frowned and looked even more dumbfounded than previously before. " I mean- I guess why don't you try Ichiraku's. It's pretty great I eat there all the time." "That doesn't mean tha-" Choji interrupted him with a grin. " It smells pretty good, I'm going in" Naruto grinned similarly and walked in with Choji. Leaving Shikamaru trailing after them with a muttered "troublesome".

.......  
Shikamaru stared down into the ramen that he had ordered. It was Onomichi with an extra side of seaweed, Choji had ordered the Kagoshima ramen dish and Naruto had not ordered anything. It wasn't bad at all, but it wasn't something he'd go out of his way to eat. 'This is positively troublesome, our regular place is closed, we ran into naruto, all I wanted to do is go home and sleep, with a possible detour for some cloud watching.' Cloud watching was a good way to calm his racing mind and relax. He could not cloud watch today. They spent so long looking for a place to eat, eating here was taking a while because of the added companionship, and he had to be home by a certain time or his troublesome parents would wonder where he had been. After finishing up his ramen, Shikamaru decided to watch Naruto and Choji. Shikamaru had been surprised to see Naruto at the team placements, but he was full of surprises. He's a bit of a village pariah, but sometimes it doesn't seem deserved. Even though his pranks were troublesome, he was almost always late to class, he was loud and a general nuisance. He was really no different from Kiba, maybe a tad less challenging, he didn't find pleasure at challenging everything. That only makes his situation weird. He did not feel like pondering that situation, so he resolved to ask his dad.

Shikamaru was walking home alone. Naruto had gone home after they had finished eating, and he had just dropped Choji off at his home. The Nara estate was not very far from Choji's own family land, so he only walked about 15 minutes before he reached the beginning of his own land. Walking another 15 minutes across the field in front of his home he reached his door. He pushed it open and announced his arrival before walking into the kitchen. His father was sitting down facing his shogi board and his mother was seemingly in the kitchen. Both of them greeted him and his father waved him over to the board. He had been in the middle of playing against himself and was now resetting the pieces. "You're a bit later than usual." Shikamaru frowned and said " Yakiniku was closed today. Choji and I spent a while looking for a suitable replacement." His father chuckled, correctly assuming that Shikamaru had been dragged along with his friend" "Choji is rather strong-willed when it comes to food. Just like Choza, his father." " Where did you go?" Shikamaru sighed at the question but still opened his mouth to answer " We ended up going a bit out of the way, we ran into naruto(literally) and he recommended the shop we were outside of. Teuchi's. The food was good. Probably won't eat there again." Shikamaru put his hands in his lap and made a move on the board. 

His father nodded and made his move. " What do you think of him" " Naruto I mean." Shikamaru's face settled into something indescribable. " He's loud and always busy, he is constantly getting in trouble with teachers and people and sometimes drags other people in with him. But he's not so different from Kiba and not a bad person. The village treats him... Like he's killed their family. No one is really openly hostile, but the glances, rumors, isolation from other kids. I think some people cheat him, I don't really know, but the stuff he's paid for sounds like the price was inflated. Why don't his parents do anything? I've never even seen his parents. " Shikamaru looked surprised for a brief second. "Does he have parents?" Shikaku's face looked grave, he took a deep breath before talking. "Naruto's case is a bit...special. His parents died on the day of the Kyuubi attack. He lives on his own as of now. I cannot tell you the reason why a lot of civilians and some shinobi don't particularly... like him." " However he does have a place in the shinobi world." " A lot of Anbu find him irritating because they can't seem to catch him doing or running from his pranks. Ha- A little boy who wasn't even a genin managed to avoid a bunch of Anbu. Very funny, too bad they don't think so."

Shikamaru's mind was still racing. Even after dinner and washing up, he couldn't get his conversation with his dad out of his mind. It was no use to be up all night however. He would see about asking naruto if he ran into him again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Second chap out now. Please bear with me until we get to the Chunin Exams. I'm going to be doing a bit of a time skip so we can progress to me actually branching off to the part where it's fanfiction instead of just a retelling. We get to see some fangirl Sakura, edgelord Sasuke, and a weirdly obsessed rant about ramen. Thanks for reading in advance. 
> 
> ps. I do apologize for whatever dishes I mentioned. I'm not at all familiar with most of the food from naruto. I just looked up some types of ramen and things and pasted that here. If I used it wrong I'm sorry.


	3. What did the vixen say to the little doe? Well no one knows...

It was quite awhile later, however, before Shikamaru was able to talk to naruto. He had never really gotten to it. The time he did try he was too late. They had left for a C-rank mission. When they came back from that however, He was ready. He was curious about the mission as well. There was a rumor about the "Great Naruto Bridge" and while probably just a rumor, it was intriguing. His own team had had 2 already. Both were simple with no risks, but it was paid for by a wealthy patron who marked it as a C-rank. The team was walking towards their usual place when he fake complained about being tired of barbeque. Ino nagged and Choji pouted but they ended up heading to Ichiraku's. Choji liked the place and he had mentioned it in a way so he didn't seem like he really wanted to go.

Team 10 found themselves sitting directly next to the three Genin members of team 7. Ino and Choji had asked all the questions, so Shikamaru didn't go out of his way to talk. The story they had been told was all kinds of wild and seemed like a tale, but it was a bit _too_

wild and naruto seemed like the exact type of person to get into such things. Eventually, they all started to go home. Sasuke left first. No doubt sick of dealing with two very pushy fangirls. Ino and Sakura left soon after. Arguing all the way down the street. Choji, with Shikamaru’s wordless affirmation, then left after. Shikamaru was then left alone with Naruto. Naruto finished up his last bowl and before Naruto could put the money in old Teuchi’s hand, Shikamaru paid for both his and Naruto’s meal. Shikamaru honestly didn’t know why he had done it. He didn’t bother to think about either. He was jerked out of his thoughts with Naruto’s indignant “Hey!” “You didn’t need to pay for mine, I coulda done it.” Shikamaru rolled his eyes and said “well. It’s already done and you can just buy me ramen later.” “ Naruto crossed his arms and told him he would pay next time. Naruto then crossed his arms and walked off after waving goodbye.

Maybe a week later when Shikamaru was walking home, Naruto had come walking down the street and asked him to go get ramen with him and that he could pay him back as well. Shikamaru was slightly surprised he had remembered and accepted begrudgingly. They walked to the shop and Naruto had gone into talking about his most recent mission and his training. They apparently had finished tree walking and were working on water walking and building stamina and muscle. Shikamaru was a bit surprised at that. Team 10 was only doing team exercises, D-ranks, C-ranks, and hopefully another B-rank. He told Naruto about the B-rank. They had to deliver an important document to Sunagakure and had been attacked by bandits. The bandits weren’t a huge problem, but, one of them had a troublesome Kekkei Genkai and there were about two Chunin level bandits to deal with. Naruto looked fairly impressed and slightly concerned. He looked like he was gonna say something, but they had arrived and he ducked inside. They had a good time, even if Naruto had thrown a tiny fit about Shikamaru stealing and paying the check again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 3, help me. It's short as hell, sorry


	4. GOD, THEres noTHing i hATE more then T O E S. They fill me wi th the BURning Urge to ABsoLutely SUck The Sou-

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm getting quite a bit busy, I did not expect churning out this chapter to take so long.

Naruto brushed his teeth with a small smile on his face. He and Shikamaru were gonna have a bit of a sleepover. After Shikamaru's slightly irritating challenge of paying the bill for a second time, they had gone on to repeatedly meet and sneakily pay for each other's meals. They had talked and related and complained together. Shikamaru had complained that eating ramen every time was troublesome. They had gone off to a dango shop and ever since then, they'd made it a habit to choose somewhere new to eat. marking down good restaurants and marking bad ones. Eventually, meeting and paying had spread out to shopping and browsing the city. They did chores and errands and sometimes just fun things. Of course, while it was often that they spent time together, they both had missions and training and Shikamaru had his team. Naruto had his team too, but they didn't do anything with him outside of team things and naruto stopped asking. They had gotten to be close, Naruto and Shikamaru know quite a bit about each other and anyone who asked would be surprised how close they were. They stayed over at Naruto's house often. Shikamaru had been surprised, and sad that Naruto lived in the red light district. He learned of his lonely life and how he could sense the Anbu that used to watch him (at that whenever they had gone cloud watching he recommended that Naruto meditate and try and sense the world around him, it ensured peace for both and all of Naruto's sense's got a lot sharper.). He also saw the absolute dismal state of Naruto's fridge and apartment. He frowned, rolled his eyes, and filled both Naruto's fridge and cabinets. Naruto frowned and bought all his weapons and mission needs after. With all the shopping and errands they did, they ended up with trinkets and decorations to make Naruto's house a home. Naruto and Shikamaru had done a buttload of missions, that left them with a bit of a surplus of Ryo. After playing a tiny bit in a mattress store and laying down on the softest bed ever, complete with the most wonderful, cool pillows, they both couldn't leave without it and Naruto got a new bed. It's about big enough for three and some space, so they did not cramp together when (trying to) go or Shogi. They both then made it a habit to do missions together, the mission receptionists marked them as their team they were there so often. They couldn't exactly continue the competition they had if they were broke. 

Of course, they didn't go unnoticed. Shikamaru had to ask his parents to stay over at Naruto's and a lot of the errands they did were for Shika's parents and Ino and Sakura. The receptionists had mentioned a small line of missions they set aside for them in front of both teams, and both had been asked questions. Naruto and Shikamaru deflected all of them. Shikamaru's parents noticed all the money he was getting and spending and inquired. Sakura and Sasuke both got to see Naruto's increase in endurance and control and sensing. He was excelling and pulling ahead rapidly in sensing and finding them all. All of them were surprised. He also got a bit better at chakra control, Sakura was still top and Sasuke was never far, but he wasn't as bad. All of them looked at him strangely when he didn't complain during meditation and Sasuke had squirmed before asking him what the hell he was doing. Naruto of course responded with a quick and short "meditating" before continuing to expand and refine his senses. Sasuke had looked annoyed and almost responded, however, Kakashi had cut him off with a look. Shikamaru was also under scrutiny when they realized that he complained a hell of a lot less and had gotten better at endurance as well as keeping the peace. Naruto and Shikamaru both played and did missions, getting stronger in the process. They learned how to cook together, messily making their way up from barely edible meals, to being very skilled, even employing chakra into some to not only make it a chakra replenishing meal for later but extremely well cooked and well done. It also helped them well with chakra control, making both of them happy. As a result, they ate out less, preferring to do some missions errands then go home to Naruto's. 

Naruto smiled at the thought, they had become unexpectedly close. Naruto began setting things out for dinner, making his bed, and cleaning his house overall. Shikamaru was a surprisingly neat person for someone so lazy, he had ended up drilling Naruto to keep his place and things clean, with the threat he wouldn't go to Teuchi's with him. Naruto had ended up being quite clean, only needing to pick up his pile of clothes, pick up trinkets, make his bed, wash clothes-OK, so maybe he was not as clean as he could be. He had a lot more stuff and it wasn't even that bad. He just needed to organize a bit. As he was finishing up cleaning he heard a knock at the door. He went over and opened it and- There. Shikamaru was standing with a slight lean, a lazy look in his eyes, and the smallest motion of pursed lips, like waiting for naruto to open the door had been troublesome for him. Naruto opened the door wider for Shikamaru to come in. He closed the door and locked it before sighing for a brief second, he already knew tonight would be fun, he was looking forward to it.

Team Kakashi was currently quite confused. 

Yesterday before they all got off, Kakashi informed the 3 of them that while tomorrow was their day off if they wanted, he was open to teaching them some techniques if they got to their normal training ground early. All of them nodded and went their separate ways, tired and ready to do other things. Sasuke and Sakura both arrived at the training ground early, Kakashi only an hour later surprisingly. The only person that wasn't there was Naruto. Originally they just thought he was being dumb and was late, as time passed on however they grew more and more bewildered. Usually, naruto was the most excited about these things. Sasuke and Sakura had been training while waiting for Naruto, but eventually, they snapped and pressed Kakashi for answers. Kakashi, just as dumbfounded at Naruto being MIA could not answer. However, the luck of team seven, while not fully there, was definitely in play. Right before they were about to leave with no answer Asuma's team came walking up to the field. The teams converged together with Kakashi cheerfully asking "Maa what brings you here Asuma, and your little genin too" "Ahh ones missing! just like ours" Asuma nodded tiredly. " We've been looking for Shikamaru for some extra training, but we can't find him, he's not at his house, where he usually likes to cloud watch, or anywhere." Both teams looked quite concerned when they revealed Naruto was too, but true to Shinobi nature they got an idea and went to go do it. They resolved to see where Naruto was, which would hopefully give them a lead on Shikamaru. Asuma's team had already asked the others, but it was futile, and both teams noticed that Shikamaru and Naruto had gotten closer. Ino talking about how Naruto always seemed to be dragging Shikamaru off to go eat, and Sakura arguing with her on how Shikamaru was always the one dragging him off. The other counterparts of the teams just looked tired, despite the search not going on for long. Naruto and Shikamaru were unaware they were missing and quite frankly, enjoying each other's company. Shikamaru was expected home Monday, so they had today and tomorrow to fully enjoy each other's company. Neither had mandatory team meetings and the sleepover yesterday was a whirlwind of cards food, watching the sky on the roof, and other fun times. They had gotten up early and done some simple missions. They had refilled the cabinets since it was the end of the week and had done some errands for Shika's parents, Naruto had also helped him with his chores. They decided to go look around Konoha at Naruto's insistence, and Naruto, overjoyed at the new summer market set-ups promised to make time for cloud-watching. Everyone else looking for them, however, was not nearly as happy. Naruto and Shikamaru were not at Teuchi's and they did not know where else to go. Ino complained about this and asked sharply "Shouldn't you guys know where he is forehead? He's your teammate right" Sakura looked offended, Sasuke look as if he had been slightly scolded, and Kakashi had a humbled look. " Shut up Ino-pig, you don't even know where Shikamaru is, you shouldn't be saying anything about US" Ino snapped back quickly with a " AT leaST we had an IDEA on where he would be, we didn't go in blind and asked your help because they've been together FOREHEAD" "CHAAA- INO-PIG" Asuma and kakashi winced before stopping them and leading on to the Mission Distribution Center. The MDC (Mission Distribution Center) proved useful, if not the best lead they got. The nearby chunnin and the desk representatives told them that Naruto and Shikamaru usually go get a box of desserts and share it. Choji came through with an excellent tip on shikamaru's favorite sweet place, and they went on. Impactiant and not paying attention however, they did not see the two figures, a blond dressed in orange pants and a black shirt (having forgone his jacket on the hot day) and his friend holding a box of sweets. Unawares to most people, Shikamaru had a bit of a sweet tooth, it surfaces obviously when he cooks, but he has'nt cooked much except with Naruto. He didn't exactly wanna get takeout everytime. They managed to elude both teams for quite some time. While they were both in for some questioning when they went their separate ways, they did not know, so they didn't care. However more then just questions was on hand. All the team leaders have something to say. It had been a months after becoming genin, and the air was stirring with anticipation, even if the genin couldn't see it.


	5. damn

my dumbass broke my computer so hiatus ig. I'm a dumb bitch I'm sorry


	6. So who wanna suck my pus-

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> anyways I'm back on my shit. Depression and other shits a bitch😐 I feel like my writing quality has gone down.
> 
> And hinata is NOT a villain in this story. Shes not THAT down bad

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The amount of hits this story has amassed has me dead, the people who gave kudos and shit too. like I remember getting excited when my story got 20 hits w t f

Naruto had known something was up when Kakashi had been at the training ground before them. Team 7 may have gotten in the habit of coming late but still earlier than Kakashi. But THIS time they had come early because Kakashi had been acting weird the day before and it had scared them. When he pulled out three slips of paper forms it got weirder.

Now Naruto was absolutely ecstatic at the idea of being in the Chunnin exams, Kakashi had said some bull about it being ok to quit, but Naruto Uzumaki was no quitter! The chunnin exams were a week off and Naruto has to prepare and check his supplies and practice his Jutsu and buy groceries and water his plants and and and-

"slow down dammit, I can see your thoughts from practically here" Naruto stopped before turning and mock glaring at the lazy ninja in front of him. "Shika just cause YOU don't wanna be excited by anything doesn't mean I can't! I mean we just got nominated for the CHUNIN E X A MS"

Shikamaru rolled his eyes and didnt futher provoke him by tying to explain why its important.

"Its going to be a pain. If you dont make chunnin then you have to take it again in a different village. Not to mention we don't know anything about how other villages current genin. All that just means extra training, and that's even more troublesome then dealing with foreigners."

Naruto looked contemplative. " Well I dont think they'll let anyone get TOO hurt. Extra training doesnt sound to bad either. Kakashi-sensei is having us to stuff like endurance and chakra excercises, I WANNA DO COOL BADASS NINJA STUFF!, like learn cool new jutsu's and tricks." 

Shikamaru rolled his eyes with a slight smirk. "Of course that's what you think is cool NaruTo" "Real ninjas know that the subtle things can help better then big flashy jutsu's" "BORING NINJAS YOU MEAN!" "Well I would rather be borin- " BORING BORING BORING"

Narutos yelling and Shikamarus exasperated posture grew further and further from the market. It seemed like a perfect day almost. 

Naruto and the other genin are preparing to be chunnin. Naruto and Shikamaru are getting along.  
Sasuke, no matter how much he doesn't acknowledge it, is developing a tender relationship with the team and a rivalry with Naruto. Kakashi and Sakura both seem to be getting used to the team dynamic.

It was nice.

Nice things unfortunately are not known to last long. Especially in villages with secrets that tore apart family's and continue to torture people. 

Even with the forbidding claws of Konoha wrapped around their neck. Konohagakure is the last of their problems.

For Naruto at least. As heightened as his senses are, he still can't detect that he had been the object of a certain person's affections. He leaves his window open every night. Unaware of who's looking in. He walks the streets unaware of who follows him.

**Author's Note:**

> I err am not the best writer nor the best with following and uploading with a consistent schedule, but I'm trying so bear with me. While I aspire to be one of those glorious 10,000 words a chapter type writers, I am not. I'll do my best to make it up with chapter quantity. Thanks for reading in advance.


End file.
